Video Game Movies

These days games are little our own little movie experience. You can put a on a game and enjoy an experience that tells an epic story that can last for as little as six to eight hours. That’s why it doesn’t take a genius to figure out, let’s take these stories and release it to the masses as something new. Then why has it worked out too well?

A lot of people think the reason why video games to moves don’t work has to do with, one of the elements are missing. Not being able to the control the action and is the reason why it doesn’t work. Or a lot the story is convoluted and overly complicated. I don’t think this is the issue. Given that we now have platforms that allow people to watch others play games live, I don’t think that takes away from the experience. I do think there is something with the story though.

As said most video games take up eight hours to tell their stories and condensing them down to an hour and half or two-hour movie. A lot of the story, character development, interesting ideas are either taken away or forgotten about completely. Which obviously upsets fans and doesn’t impress the critics. Which is why a lot of game movies just tell their own stories but base it on a gaming IP.

There are several movies which have done this, Assassin’s Creed and Sonic The Hedgehog are two movies that come to mind. Where they have decided to take elements from the games and made their own movies. They have been made to various degrees of success. Whereas a movie like Prince of Persia decided to take a title of a game that was great success and remade. I didn’t follow the story of the game at all but took elements that it liked and left out everything else. Which is a true shame as it wasn’t as good as it could have been.

Then there are moves that take the basic premise of the game and make the movie as if it’s another entry in the series. Like the 2001 Tomb Raider movie does this well. It takes what we gamer know as Lara Croft and just make a movie as if this was one of Lara adventures. This is one I enjoy as it is simple, not based on the game, but passes as the idea of Tomb Raider. Similarly, with the second movie, even thought it was greatly received as the previous. Whereas, the 2018 movie decided to try retelling the 2013 game in movie form.

I couldn’t talk about video games movies without talking about the abomination of a movie, Super Mario Bros. With this movie I don’t know if the produces were on crack or didn’t understand the premise. But turning the bright and colourful Mario world into a dirty and gritty world I don’t understand. In the light of 2021, we now know that the whole movie was a train wreck, as I’ve seen all the interviews.

This year we are going to be treated to another video gaming movie reboots, Mortal Kombat and Resident Evil. Because of so many lack lustre movies, I am not too excited for. I love Mortal Kombat but given that we are getting another movie doesn’t really excite as it once did. I still enjoy the original, which was a simple adaptation of the first game, with a few creative liberties. As for this adaption I’ll reserve my judgment till it comes out.

I used to get excited when I heard they were making a movie out of out a game I liked, but I think over time I have become numb to their announcements. They are making these movies, not for the fans or not to adapt a great story to the big screen. They are doing it just to make money from gamers like me who would love to see a live action version of a game. Sadly, we aren’t getting many movies which are good, and doesn’t serve the purpose of telling a story in a new medium or, giving us a new angle on an existing world.

With all that in mind, there are still a few games I would like to make into a movie but keeping the elements of the games and characters intact. While also adapting the story to live action would be good. One of these I would like to see if the adaption of Breath of the Wild and if we finally get production started on a Bioshock movie.

With all this said, in the spirt of video games movies for my first Re-Rewind review I am going to look at one of my it’s so bad it’s good movie video game movie, 1994’s Street Fighter.